Active-Traveller - Features

Is it really possible to have a relaxing ski touring holiday? Pete Coombs discovers that in the Picos de Europa you can combine hard climbs and exhilarating descents, as well as lazy breakfasts, cultural encounters and even the odd coffee stop…

Nestled in Scotland’s most densely populated central belt, the Ochil hills are often by-passed or over-looked. But don’t miss out, pleads proud local Sean McFarlane, their ease of access, beauty – and pubs – make them the perfect winter day-walking destination…

After decades of conflict and humanitarian disasters, Ethiopia is at last beginning to share its natural wonders. Matt Westby finds a breath-taking landscape of canyon-cut mountains, bubbling lava lakes and astonishingly vivid acid pools…

The smartphone is changing the way we travel, putting the knowledge of the world in our pocket – not to mention an always-handy camera... But is all this tech getting in the way, asks Neil Pedoe? Do all those ‘selfies’ simply prove your phone is having a better holiday...

For decades Malta has lured sun-worshippers to its beaches, but as Roger Fulton finds, with 7,000 years of history to draw on, and a largely deserted wild side, it’s also an open-air museum to be explored on foot or by bike.

The stunning lakes and cloud-capped mountains of Killarney in Ireland’s County Kerry are the perfect setting for kayaking, biking and running up mountains… But why run? Because this is Pete Coombs’ first adventure race and he’s finding it quite literally breathtaking

Ruggedly beautiful coastal scenery, empty roads and friendly locals make the Scottish isles of the Orkneys a fascinating destination for a family cycling tour finds Pete Coombs – as long as you don’t mind a bit of ‘weather’, and towing a child trailer up the odd hill… ...

When the crooked old man with a solitary tooth traced his finger along our map and promised, despite the swarm of frowning naysayers, that “Si, hay paso” – yes, there’s a way through – what did we do? We folded up our map and rode on…